This quote is taken from the last section of the book when Montag is on the run after killing Beatty. He has just heard on the radio that war has been declared as he emerges from the men's room at a gas station where he cleaned up a little. It is dark and he knows he's a hunted man. He looks out at the nearly empty dark street, empty because it's dark outside and because...

This quote is taken from the last section of the book when Montag is on the run after killing Beatty. He has just heard on the radio that war has been declared as he emerges from the men's room at a gas station where he cleaned up a little. It is dark and he knows he's a hunted man. He looks out at the nearly empty dark street, empty because it's dark outside and because of the impending war. He sees his current existence as something of a game which is fitting since in his society, games and sports were much more important than reading and learning. He must be the bowling pins trying to dodge the bowling ball that represents the government and authority. Also, he is like the victim being thrown to the lions, only this time the lions are those who are hunting him - the authorities. Both of these statements create a mood of isolation, the quiet emptiness that both sentences impart gives that feeling. Both fit the theme of alientation and loneliness which is typical in the society of the story. Togetherness in a real manner was discouraged. Also, both sentences give the feeling of impending high action. Bowling is a loud game and killing a victim in an arena would be action-packed.